The title image features Beacon Hill Flagstone patio pavers with Courtstone and Copthorne accents.
Adding a retaining wall to your Franklin Lakes, NJ, landscape can be one of the best decisions both to perform the important function of holding back soil and preventing erosion, but also to create more outdoor living space that is as beautiful as it is practical. A retaining wall can become an important focal point. To help you with your design choices, here are four style options for retaining walls.
Contemporary and Sleek
One of the main current landscape design trends is to move toward sleek, smooth textures and finishes that “tone down” the inherent ruggedness of a retaining wall. That’s not to say that textures are “out,” but a smooth wall can be a wonderful contrast to textured pavers. The result is a space that beautifully blends natural textures and the modern sleek aesthetic.
Lineo Dimensional Stone from Unilock offers the smooth texture and simple-yet-sophisticated aesthetic that could be ideal for outdoor spaces that favor a linear design. The result is a retaining wall with an elegant presence. Lineo wall units are long and linear, and are available in a random bundle of four different lengths. Use them on a retaining wall, an outdoor kitchen, or a custom feature such as a fire table or water feature. The finish beautifully complements smooth outdoor kitchen finishes like countertops and stainless steel appliances, while adding a contrast to textured pavers and natural elements in the landscape. Finish the look with Universal Coping from Unilock.
Relaxed and Welcoming
Outdoor living should usually be about relaxation, not fussy surfaces that need constant maintenance. Achieve a “been there forever” look with the Brussels Dimensional System from Unilock. These antiqued blocks give your outdoor space the timeless appeal of weathered stone—similar to what you’d see in countless Mediterranean towns. These modestly sized wall blocks are ideal for both straight or curved walls, and can also be used to construct custom fire features and the walls of an outdoor kitchen. Finish the look with rounded-edge Brussels Fullnose Coping for a more relaxed look, or Universal Coping if you prefer a smooth and more refined surface.
Heavy Duty, Yet Beautiful
If your retaining wall is largely functional, you can still achieve a beautiful look with Concord Wall. This textured wall unit features a built-in setback design, which means you can build sturdy gravity retaining walls up to 2.5’ high, or grid-reinforced walls up to 25’ high. The textured look is reminiscent of weathered stone, and you can use Concord Wall for straight or curved applications.
Bridging the Gap Between Natural and Ultra-Modern
Sometimes, you just don’t want to be confined to a particular style. If eclectic is your style and you want to get the best of naturalistic and modern styles, you’ll love the U-Cara Multi-Face Wall System from Unilock. This incredible wall system gives you the largest array of style choices available in a wall system. Give your retaining wall a substantial look with the pitched face veneer. Add smoothness with accent banding using one of the other three available finishes (Smooth, Series Exposed, and Umbriano Mottled)—each with its unique complementary color palette. Or, create a completely smooth wall finished on either end with pillars made using the pitched face units. Finish the look with Universal Coping, which will give your wall a refined look, whether its face is more rugged or more sleek.
